I really enjoyed Remy's talk. I think it's always refreshing for a class to have someone come in and speak on a topic we are learning about. I did want to ask Remy a question that I felt was kind of off topic for what we were discussing not to mention what little time we had. My question is how would a family deal with someone who is currently going through a transition in their life from wanting to be a girl to being a boy? My family is in this situation and I think it is safe to say it's shocking, especially for the older generation. We are a "traditional" family and have never had to deal with anyone being gay let alone want to change their gender. It's not like all of us are against what she is doing, at least I'm not, and won't accept her or as she now wants it, him. It's hard to take it all in when you have never been exposed to this. I over-heard someone say, they refuse to call her a him. For me, I can try to help them understand but older people are stuck in their own ways. If we don't get a grasp on this as a family we will push her away. I hope I'm not offending anyone by my ignorance but it's an honest question.
With that said I liked when Remy brought up the anxiety we feel if we see a man in a skirt. We look at it as if something is wrong with that person but in reality it's our own issue. That person feels comfortable with what they are doing otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. This goes back to what I said earlier. My family is looking at my cousin as if something is wrong with her, "maybe she should be in counseling or this will pass with time" is what they say. But the truth of the matter is, she is happy right now and it's their own anxiety that they are putting on her.
I also found it interesting when we discussed the media's views on gays and transgender people. If we put them on TV and not make a big deal about it people will come to accept that person for who they are. But if the media makes a huge deal out of it, like they do most of the time that's when the public steps in and is extremely opinionated and criticizes what they saw. This can go back to people's anxiety, the media plays a big role in that. They are reinforcing people to think or feel a certain way. Look at Chaz Bono, there was so much controversy when they announced he would be on Dancing with the Stars. He was the first transgender person and the audience members were iffy about it. But once the show started and they didn't focus so much about what he went through the past couple years, people were able to accept him and now he is a fan favorite.
All in all I thought Remy's lecture brought important issues to light. I found it interesting to hear his perspectives on this topic.
You should have asked this question in class. It would have been great to discuss this. We know how the media portrays the image of gay/transgender, however we never know really of the family plays a role. Could there possibly be a statistic that leads to decisions to be gay/transgender? For example, absence of a mother/father figure, friends etc, etc. Or is it completely random?
I also took away from the lecture the idea of seeing a man in a skirt to be the receiver's issue, not the man. I thought Remy made a great point with this example.